McPhabbs, the bar that takes up the ground floor of a grand Victorian townhouse on the western stretch of Sauchiehall Street, has a bucolic wee beer garden out front. I can imagine it being divine on a scorching summer day, the cider flowing like the Kelvin, the laughs intensifying as you hit that perfect four-pint buzz. As it is, my first visit to McPhabbs is not on one of those days. It’s a mild December evening and the beer garden’s benches are empty, its trees bare. A board outside promises soul food. I am expecting big things.
I get them within seconds. I’m no sooner over the threshold off the street than a girl is flying towards me, her baggy trousers billowing like a parachute in the night air. “We just moved in together and this is our celebratory night out,” the guy manages to get out between gasps. I salute her as we pass and pledge to vote for her in my “People of 2016” nomination: she is the hero this year needs.
Inside, things are less dramatic. It’s a slow night but McPhabbs is cosy, welcoming, wood-panelled, all the adjectives you could apply to a thousand Glaswegian bars. I’m prepared to say it’s a winner just because My Bloody Valentine and some early Teenage Fanclub made it onto the playlist in the time we were there, everyone else I encountered was really nice, and they have soul nights on Sundays. It’s that simple, really. When the sun is shining and I have a thirst, you can bet I’ll be back to take up permanent residence in that front garden.
What’s your number one Christmas tune?
1. Evan Campbell, 35, Howwood, “Run DMC’s Beat the Bells”
Brian Leyden, 35, Howwood, “Stop the Cavalry by Jona Lewie”
Fraser McKenzie, 35, Renfrew, “Saviour’s Day”
2. Michael Quinn, 25, Bellshill, “Christmas Lights by Coldplay”
Claire Thomson, 31, West End, “Must be Santa by Bob Dylan”
3. Craig Love, 28, West End, “That Pogues one”
Graeme Honeyman, 28, Renfrew, “Last Christmas by Wham”
4. Gary Torrance, 38, Carluke, “Mariah Carey, definitely”
Steven Lane, 33, Maryhill, “Christmas Time by The Darkness”
5. John Donaldson, 28, Torrance, “Driving Home for Christmas”
Nicola Adams, 29, Bearsden, “We Wish You a Merry Christmas”
6. Melanie Lau, 24, Finnieston, “Mariah’s All I Want For Christmas”
Sagipa Vigneswaran, 21, Finnieston, “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) by Darlene Love”
Lyndsey McGill, 23, Paisley, “White Christmas”
7. Karen Wood, 30, Partick
Favourite Club? The Buff Club
Favourite Bar? The Pot Still
Favourite DJ? Barrientos
Favourite Band? Fleetwood Mac
What You Drinking? Pina Coladas
First Club? The Shack
Describe Your Dancing? Minimalistic
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